Monday, September 29, 2008

US attorneygate

For your reading pleasure: Here's the full report -- so far -- on the scandal surrounding removal of U.S. attorneys, including Bud Cummins of the Eastern District of Arkansas. He's mentioned repeatedly, but pages 115-145 cover his replacement by Tim Griffin in detail. A timeline quotes an item in "an Arkansas tabloid." (Later, the Times is identified and quoted in an editorial mentioning that Griffin's political activities likely would become an issue.)

Karl Rove's deep involvement in helping Griffin is detailed. That's significant because statements that he was NOT involved are among many "misleading" (read: dishonest) statements made by the Bush administration about the swap of Cummins for Griffin.

The bottom line on Cummins-Griffin, as expresed in the report, has long been clear:

In sum, we concluded that Cummins was not removed for performance reasons, as initially suggested by the Department. His performance was never evaluated, and no Department leader had suggested that Cummins’s performance was lacking. Sampson stated that he thought Cummins was “mediocre” but he never assessed his performance, and he later agreed with McNulty that Cummins was not removed for performance reasons. Rather, the evidence shows that the main reason for Cummins’s removal, and the timing for his removal, was to provide a position for former White House employee Griffin.

The State Police say Brett McCullough, 52, of Hot Springs, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding a bicycle about 8:47 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 70 West (Airport Road) in Hot Springs.

Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Bart Virden of Morrilton, who narrowly survived attack ads by an outside partisan group supporting his opponent for re-election to a nonpartisan seat, doesn't intend to let the matter drop.

KFSM reports that the Benton County Election Commission will recount votes today in two squeaky state House races where incumbents are currently on top by scant margins.

The Arkansas Supreme Court continues to grapple, with divisions, on how to square new federal and state law on resentencing people who got life without parole sentences for capital crimes committed when they were minors.

Enjoy these photos from today's dedication and re-installation of a new Ten Commandments monument. The first iteration of the monument was installed last June but destroyed within the next 24 hours when it was rammed by a man in a Dodge Dart.